Iran sanctions may be toughest ever

? U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday called the proposed new U.N. sanctions against Iran’s suspect nuclear program the toughest ever, a day before the U.N. Security Council was expected to vote on the measure.

Clinton told reporters in Ecuador’s capital that there is strong support for a fourth resolution penalizing Iran for its refusal to prove its nuclear program is peaceful and defying international demands to halt uranium enrichment.

“I think it is fair (to say) that these are the most significant sanctions that Iran has ever faced,” Clinton said at a news conference with Ecuador’s president. “The amount of unity that has been engendered by the international community is very significant.”

She declined to predict the outcome of the vote in the 15-member Security Council, but U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in London said the measure would pass and pave the way for tougher additional measures by the U.S. and its allies.